The nuclear crisis in Japan escalated as a third explosion in four days rocked the struggling power plant in the country's stricken north-east, according to its nuclear safety watchdog. Tokyo had already called in international help to tackle the escalating crisis.
Nonessential personnel pulled back from reactor 2 at the Fukushima No 1 power plant as radiation levels rose following the blast at 6.10am Japanese time. The blast appears to be the most serious yet, with Kyodo news agency reporting possible damage to the suppression pool of the containment vessel – increasing the risk of a significant release of radioactive material. The news agency said the safety agency feared radiation was leaking.
It came as the official death toll from the worst earthquake and tsunami in Japan's recorded history reached almost 1,900, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for. Millions of survivors woke up to a fifth day in the disaster zone with dwindling supplies of food and fuel, following another 24 hours of aftershocks, blazes and tsunami alerts.
Officials had previously admitted the reactor could be in partial meltdown and warned the situation was "even worse" than in the other two units with cooling problems. "Although we cannot directly check it, it's highly likely [to be] happening," Yukio Edano, the chief government spokesman, told reporters. A second dramatic hydrogen explosion had blown the walls off another reactor unit yesterday.
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Courtesy of The Guardian.
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